Prosecutor Nathan Evershed wants to be Salt Lake County’s next district attorney and will challenge his own boss — Sim Gill — to try to earn the post.
A deputy district attorney in Salt Lake County for the past 10 years, Evershed announced Tuesday his candidacy for the Republican nomination and a chance to remove Gill from office.
“I’m running because I care,” Evershed says in his video announcement. “I care about my family, and my friends and this community. … The district attorney’s office needs to do a better job protecting them.”
A University of Utah graduate and Salt Lake City native, Evershed says he has earned the trust of his colleagues in the criminal justice system. He has handled a variety of cases, “from traffic tickets to homicide.”
Evershed makes no mention of Gill, his Democratic incumbent boss.
A veteran prosecutor who was first elected in 2010, Gill said he welcomes the challenge from Evershed or any other candidate because he values the American system of participatory democracy.
“What’s great about our country is that if you want to make a change, we have a process by which we do that,” he said. “So if somebody wants to be a public servant and contribute, the tent should be wide open.”
A political challenge from his own office could be awkward and disruptive, Gill said.
“We’ll try to minimize that,” he said. “We’re professionals.”
Gill isn’t the only Democratic incumbent facing a challenge from an employee. The county’s sheriff, Rosie Rivera, is up against one of her lieutenants.
Justin Hoyal, a 21-year veteran of the Unified Police Department, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in December.
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